Tool Know How To Delight Their Faithful

iI'm going to be honest: I'm not the biggest Tool fan in the world. It's not that I don't like them. I've heard all their albums at one point or another and I respect them as phenomenal musicians. They're simply one of the many bands whose oeuvre I've yet to fully explore. With that in mind, Saturday's show at the Molson Amphitheatre gave me a chance to repent for my sins by showing me what I've been missing.

Boston post-metal heroes Isis seemed like a perfect complement to Tool's hard-hitting prog-metal. Though I was looking forward to seeing them, the unbelievably long lineup prevented this from happening. Frontman Aaron Turner's guttural growl could be heard all around the grounds of Ontario Place. From what I could hear, their set seemed to focus on 2004's Panopticon.

It looked like half the audience missed Isis' set as the lineup of thousands snaked around the venue. By the time everyone was in, Danny Carey's immaculate drum kit was already set up. I've been to a bunch of concerts at the amphitheatre before, but I've never seen it as packed as it was on Saturday. Tool fans filled every seat and even the spacious lawn was covered with kids in black T-shirts. Once the lights went out, the crowd roared as silhouettes of each band member appeared on the stage.

Still shrouded by the darkness, frontman Maynard James Keenan declared, "Ready or not, here we come," and the band ripped into fan favourite "Stinkfist," sending arms and horns flying into the air. Keenan appeared shirtless for the majority of the show and sported a ridiculous cowboy hat while doing what appeared to be a strange mix of yoga, tai chi, performance art and Scott Weiland-esque dance moves. As expected, the audience ate up his every pelvic thrust.

The eccentric frontman knew when to quit prancing around and start rocking out, and he put his formidable pipes to good work. The man has one of the most recognizable (and shamelessly imitated) voices in modern rock, but it's also one of the most powerful, a fact that was only accented by the amphitheatre's propulsive sound system.

Not to be outdone, the rest of the band were note-perfect the entire night. Both guitarist Adam Jones and drummer Carey have become renowned, even revered, players of their respective instruments, and they proved exactly why they've attained such status by drawing out the band's already lengthy numbers to the delight of their salivating fans. Drum aficionados and kids who just bought their first guitars hung onto every note.

Though musically impressive, the longer tracks in the band's set were the obvious weak points, but that's where their light show and computer animated segments took over. Each song had a corresponding animation to go along with the music, each done in the same distinctive style as Jones' music videos for the band. The light show was a seizure-inducing display of strobes and lasers that no doubt gave some of the more chemically indulgent audience members a scare or two.

After closing with a rousing rendition of "Ænima," the band left the stage with no encore, but the crowd hardly needed one. Tool gave the audience everything they could have asked for and, after leaving the concert grounds, I made a mental note to purchase all their albums in the near future.